Sozin's Alliance
by LizBee
Summary: Alternate universe.  It's a political marriage to preserve the century-old alliance between the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe. Mai should probably feel honoured.


**Sozin's Alliance**

by LizBee

* * *

><p>Mai spent the long journey to the south compiling a mental list of all the things she was leaving behind.<p>

Warmth. Light. Zuko. Ty Lee.

She even added Azula to the list, even though the princess had spent the weeks leading up to Mai's departure gloating that Mai was going to spend the rest of her life with a blubber-chewing barbarian Water Tribesman.

"I asked my uncle," Zuko had told her, the night before she left. "He commanded waterbenders at Ba Sing Se. He said they're as civilised as anyone, and we wouldn't have won the war without them."

Zuko was probably reassuring himself as much as her. The ship that brought Mai out here would be taking his own future wife back to the Fire Nation. For the preservation and security of Sozin's Alliance, to ensure the safe guardianship of the Avatar, blah, blah, blah. Zuko was still acting like they were being greatly honored, instead of being treated as glorified pieces in a game of political pai sho.

He had kissed her as the sun set on her last day in the Fire Nation. Then Mai walked away, and didn't look back.

"Mai?" Her mother tapped at the door. "Mai, are you ready? It's time."

Her parents had manoeuvred for this position from the very first whisper that Sozin's Alliance was going to be shored up by a marriage. As the wife of a prince, only the son of a second son, Mai would bring them prestige, but as the wife of a future tribal chief, leader of the Fire Nation's greatest ally, they could have power as well.

She had heard her father speculating on what he might get out of this. A city to govern? A province? They had risked a great deal in even contemplating breaking her betrothal to Zuko. Then the news had come that he was to marry the other girl, the Water Tribe princess.

It was only difficult because she loved Zuko. That had been a mistake, but she couldn't remember the moment - there must have been a moment - where she chose. Mai tried to pinpoint the moment where he had gone from _Zuko, the prince, her friend's brother_ to _Zuko, her friend_, to _Zuko, whom she loved_. She couldn't tell.

The journey from the the Fire Nation and the South Pole was long, marked with storms. The captain assured Mai's father that cyclones never came this far south, or this late in the year, but apparently no one had told the cyclones.

Mai liked the storms. They were slightly more interesting than the alternative, and the weeks they spent in port while the crew made repairs gave her time to think about her list of the things she would miss.

Now they were arriving, and it was time to put those things out of her mind.

"Mai?" her mother repeated. "Mai!"

"I'm coming."

She pulled her fur-lined hood up, so at least no one would be able to see her face as she saw her new home for the first time.

Visibility was poor in the icy mist. One moment, Mai was on deck, looking out at a grey expanse of nothing. Then a great wall appeared, and beyond it, a vast palace of ice and bone.

The Southern Water Tribe.

Mai's shiver wasn't just from the cold.

She could see other ships, now, as well, the light metal catamarans used by the Southern Water Tribe, and the more old fashioned wooden ships still used in the north.

Mai's mother clutched her arm as they disembarked.

"You're not wearing your knives, are you?" she said.

"No," Mai lied. "Of course not."

An honour guard of waterbenders and warriors met them at the dock, escorting them to the great hall at the centre of the city.

Within awaited Mai's future family.

She kept her eyes down as her mother had instructed, and bowed as she was introduced.

"Welcome, Mai," said the Water Tribe chief, taking her hands in his. "I am Chief Hakoda. This is my wife, Kya; our daughter, Katara, one of the Avatar's guardians. And our son, Sokka, your future husband."

Mai pasted a smile on her lips and let Sokka make a stilted speech about unity and the future. She could feel her mother's eyes on her, watching for any deviation from the routine they had rehearsed.

Her mother underestimated her, she thought. Mai always did her duty.

* * *

><p>"Well?" her mother demanded, straightening the combs in Mai's hair.<p>

Mai shrugged. "I can live with it."

Her mother smiled and even hugged her. Mai closed her eyes, reassuring herself that her knives her still in her sleeves. Sometimes she felt the urge to stop and let her blades fly, bringing down flags and banners and all the symbols of their stupid _politics_. To change something. Change everything. Burn it down and make them start over, then escape in the chaos to someplace they'd never find her.

She bowed to her mother, and went to rejoin her betrothed.

* * *

><p>"It's not so bad here," Sokka said. "Once you get used to the cold, I mean. Gran-Gran says it's getting warmer, though, so - and we control the Southern Air Temple and the southern Earth Kingdom peninsula. We don't just live at the South Pole anymore."<p>

They were outside, looking out over the edge of the great ice palace. The moon was full, so bright they hardly even needed the lamps.

"The Northern Water Tribe is supposed to control the Northern Air Temple," Sokka went on, "only they don't have many resources since Pakku's Rebellion, so we take care of that, too. There was this guy there, an inventor. He wanted sanctuary with the monks for his people, but Dad brought them down here instead. He designed these balloons-"

Mai let him talk. She was more interested in the people below. There were even a few Air Nomads amongst the crowd, seemingly no less civilised than anyone else. One looked up at her. Mai thought he might be laughing. At her? At everyone else? The ice on the railing was melting, soaking through her fur mittens. They were so high up that the ships in the port looked like toys. Mai wondered what Sokka would do if she climbed up on the ledge and jumped off. Maybe she'd die. Maybe the Air Nomad would save her.

She let Sokka take her inside.

"-so we think we can get a lot more speed, only then we have to deal with the stopping-"

Sokka stopped, and swallowed, his gaze fixed somewhere over Mai's shoulder. She turned, and saw a girl about her age, unremarkably pretty save for her white hair.

"Is that the Northern Water Tribe princess?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Sokka. "Yue."

"She's not a princess, though," said Sokka's sister, overhearing. "She's just the daughter of the chief."

"What's he like?" Sokka demanded. "The Fire Nation prince."

"He's-" Mai froze. _He's stupid and clever at the same time. He's kind and selfish. He's brave. He'll be a good husband even if he hates her, because anything else would be dishonourable._ "He's okay," she said.

"Dad wanted to offer me to the other prince," said Katara. "Prince Lu Ten. But Fire Lord Iroh refused."

"He's betrothed to Azula," said Mai.

"Yeah, but Dad figured she could marry Sokka. I don't mind," Katara added, "I didn't want to leave, not when I'd just finished my training."

"You probably got the better end of the bargain," Mai said, watching Sokka watch the Northerner girl. Zuko would do his best, but Azula would eat her alive.

Maybe she didn't miss Azula so much after all.

"Hey," said Sokka, turning back to her at last, "do you want to see something cool?"

"Um-"

"Katara's one of the Avatar's guardians. She can get us into the ice chamber."

"Are you kidding?" Katara was almost whispering, though no one was paying attention to them. "Sifu Hama will kill me."

"And how would she find out?"

Katara bit her lip.

"Come on," said Sokka. "Mai's here because of Nilak's Alliance. She should get to see where it started."

"Fine," said Katara. "Meet me at the western gate in half an hour."

"Do you trust her?" Mai asked when she had left them alone.

"She's my sister."

"Right."

But Katara them at the appointed time and place.

"Right," she said, "I told Anyu and Tartok that I'd spell them while they got something to eat, so we've got about twenty minutes." Using her waterbending, she opened a door in the ice wall. A long flight of stairs descended before them. "Oh, and Sokka? I just want to say, _real_ romantic, big brother."

She blocked Sokka's playful slap with a wall of water, so he was wet and cranky as they made their way through the corridor. But even he stopped muttering when Katara opened the final door, and they entered the ice chamber.

It was vast, as large as the feasting hall above, and empty save for the ice sphere that rested on a base of frozen snow.

The sphere, Mai realised, was the source of the odd light filling the room. Within, rotating slowly inside the shell of ice, she could see the shape of a boy and a sky bison.

"The Avatar," said Sokka.

"I thought he'd be older," said Mai.

"Twelve, the Air Nomads say." Katara's gaze was reverent.

"And you guard him?"

"I'm a guardian," Katara corrected her. "The youngest guardian he's ever hard."

"Tough job."

"Keeping the sphere intact without killing him requires great power. And if he ever did get out," Katara looked back at Mai, "I'd give my life to stop him from escaping."

Mai shivered. The history books, with their dry accounts of the finding of the Avatar by Chief Nilak, and the alliance he made with Fire Lord Sozin, hadn't conveyed the sense of ancient power contained in this shell of ice.

"Has anyone ever tried to rescue him?" she asked.

"The Northern Water Tribe tried, once," said Katara. "That was Pakku's Rebellion."

"They could have been our equals," said Sokka. "Dad says, another fifty years, maybe they can be." He took Mai's hand. "Look, we won't always be here. Another couple of years, Dad says he'll make me governor of Kyoshi Island. It's warmer there. You'll like it."

"Great."

Mai pulled her hand out of his and approached the Avatar's sphere. "Can I touch it?" she asked Katara.

"Sure."

It was dry to her touch, and as hard as glass. But there were weak points. She ran her fingers over those grooves.

A knife in the right place. Or several knives in several places. Mai could picture it: the sphere shattering, the Avatar free. Everything would fall apart, then: the betrothals, the alliance, the war.

Her knives were in her hand, concealed by her heavy sleeve. It would take less than a second. Then everything would change, and she'd be free. For a few seconds, before Katara killed her _and_ the Avatar. And no doubt the Fire Nation would be accused of sending her to destabilise the alliance, and everyone knew she was friends with Zuko, and the Fire Lord wouldn't be able to protect his nephew-

Mai took a deep breath and stepped back, returning her knives to their sheathes. She turned away from the sphere.

"Let's go," she said. "This is boring."

Ascending the staircase, she took Sokka's hand.

"Zuko will be kind to Yue," she whispered.

"Thank you." Sokka checked that his sister was still moving ahead of them, and kissed her quickly on the mouth. "Thanks."

Mai didn't look behind her.

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><p><em>end<em>


End file.
